Date archive: August 2016

Effective January 1, 2017, Illinois will enact Molly’s Law, which extends the time period in which a victim’s family can file a wrongful death lawsuit in situations where the victim dies as the result of an act that was intentional and violent in nature. This law was introduced by State Representative Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) in…

PROTECTING RESIDENT PRIVACY AND PROHIBITING MENTAL ABUSE RELATED TO PHOTOGRAPHS AND AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS BY NURSING HOME STAFF In light of concerns that patient photographs are showing up on social media networks and other multimedia messaging, CMS issued guidance to State Survey Agency Directors. S&C: 16-33-NH dated August 5, 2016, effective immediately, addresses the need for…

Advocate Health Care Network, the largest fully-integrated health care system in Illinois, agreed to the largest HIPAA Settlement to be paid by a single entity for potential penalties in the amount of $5.55M. The alleged long term non-compliance resulting in this settlement included four failures to comply with HIPAA including: failure to adequately conduct risk…